ANF busts Afghan drug network, seizes 671kg Ice

ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has dismantled an international drug trafficking network allegedly linked to Afghanistan, resulting in the seizure of 671 kilograms of methamphetamine, commonly known as Ice, from ports in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

According to an ANF press release, the operation was launched on the basis of intelligence about a transnational trafficking organisation involved in moving Afghan-origin narcotics through Pakistan to international markets.

During an operation at Karachi Port, authorities recovered 200kg of methamphetamine concealed in a container and arrested an Afghan national identified as the alleged mastermind, Ehsan Ullah, along with local facilitators.

Following his interrogation, ANF shared key intelligence with Sri Lankan authorities and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The information led to a coordinated operation at Colombo Port, where Sri Lankan authorities recovered another 471kg of methamphetamine concealed inside towels.

The ANF said the seizures in Karachi and Colombo were connected to the same Afghanistan-based trafficking network, bringing the total quantity of methamphetamine confiscated during the coordinated operations to 671kg.

The force said Pakistan continues to be affected by the trafficking of Afghan-origin drugs and remains committed to meeting its international counter-narcotics obligations through cooperation with foreign law-enforcement agencies.

The ANF described the operation as a major success for intelligence-led counter-narcotics efforts, saying its coordination with Sri Lankan authorities and the DEA played a key role in disrupting the international trafficking network.

According to the force, Sri Lankan authorities and the US DEA have also formally acknowledged ANF’s contribution to the operation and its broader efforts to dismantle international drug trafficking organisations and apprehend Afghan traffickers and their local facilitators.